User:Kmuwo/sandbox

=Copetown Woods Golf Club=

Copetown Woods Golf Club is a semi-private 18 hole Champion links-style golf course located in the town of Copetown, Ontario. It has a 12-acre practice facility and a Victorian style clubhouse with a 200 person banquet hall and restaurant that is open to the public. The course is owned by Gordon and Neil Forth who both maintain the course and oversee the facility’s operations.

History
The golf course was founded by two brothers, Gordon and Neil Forth. Before becoming a golf course, the 200 acres was used as farmland that was owned and operated by the Forth brothers. This land was specifically dedicated to the growth of a broccoli crop for nearly 30 years and was owned by Gordon Forth Farms Ltd. Due to inadequate soil conditions the brothers decided to put the land to an alternate use. Gordon came up with the idea of turing the land into a golf course in 1998; however, permits and construction approval weren’t given until the winter of 2001. The Course was designed by local architect Dick Kirkpatrick. Construction of the course began April 1st, 2002 and was completed 14 months later on June 2nd, 2003.

The Forth brothers retired from the farming industry in 2014 after selling Gordon Forth Farms Ltd to Gowland Farms Ltd. The brothers now focus on the golf course as their single business venture.

The Course
Copetown Woods is a 7,000 yard champion links style golf course with two ponds and holes ranging from par 2-5.

Outdoor practices include a putting area, a short game area, a driving range, private or group lessons and a practice fairway bunker. The 12-acre practice facility includes: a bent grass tee deck, 7 target greens, a chipping green, a putting green, and a practice bunker.

Pro shop
The pro shop offers a small selection of golf apparel, golf clubs, and other golf accessories. Golf clubs and golf carts can be rented from the pro shop. Gift cards are available for purchase that can be redeemed in either the pro shop, halfway house or 4th Course Bistro.

Copetown Woods does not require a membership but does offer a Flexpass program. Flexpass packages allow golfers to buy their rounds in bulk therefore saving money and allowing unlimited use of practice facilities and unlimited evenings.

The current head PGA professional is Ryan Wilson. Ryan Wilson manages the pro shop and back shop, lessons, clinics, and tournament bookings.

Copetown Woods offers an exclusive ladies league that is 9-hole style and held every Tuesday during afternoons and evenings.

4th Course Bistro
The 4th Course Bistro is the restaurant located in the heart of Copetown Woods clubhouse. The restaurant available to both golfers and the public. The restaurant includes a small dining room, pub area, and veranda patio that overlooks the course. The Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager Nina Ruelens manages 4th Course Bistro.

The Bistro is open daily and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their menu offers a variety of soups, salads, appetizers, mains, and deserts all creations of the executive chef. The restaurant features a variety of broccoli inspired dishes such as broccoli soup, broccoli salad, and chicken and broccoli pot pie. The menu includes a dish called Barry Brand Broccoli salad that is actually named after Gordon Forth’s son Barry Forth.

The 4th Course Bistro and Executive Chef Nina Ruelens has won awards at Hamilton Food and Drink fest for Best Overall Experience in 2015 and Hamilton Soupfest in 2012, 2013, and 2014 for having the Best Soup.

Banquets and Special Events
Inside their victorian styled clubhouse Copetown Woods has a 200 person banquet room that can be used for Corporate Golf Tournaments, Corporate Meetings, Weddings, and Banquets.

The Banquet hall has been used for a variety of special events such as: birthday parties, anniversaries, bar and bat mitzvahs, memorials, staff parties, and holiday celebrations. The banquet room has a full bar, dance floor, projector screens, and access to the veranda patio.

Copetown Woods hosts approximately 30 weddings a season with the help from Wedding Coordinater Nicky Noel.

Environmental Program
With the owners’ farm backgrounds they enforce 'green' guidelines and environmental policies including: waste management, recycling, composting and use of eco-friendly products and technology. Despite their high costs, all products used and sold in Copetown Woods food services are biodegradable such as: coffee cups, plastic cups, lids, straws, napkins and takeout containers. The ‘green waste’ of food scraps, grass, leaves, and cardboard were used as fertilizer for the owners farmlands. This green strategy not only helps the environment but also their business, “the cost of maintaining a garbage dumpster at $1,400 (20 dumpsters at $70.00 each) and a cardboard dumpster at $300 (10 dumpsters at $30.00 each) per year along with the combined savings of $1,820 (70 years at $26.00 per yard) through production their own soil compost, accumulates to a savings of over $3,500 per season”1.

The course conserves water with its built in irrigation system that collects 80% of rainwater that is stored in a reservoir and used for watering the course.

Their fertilizing methods consist of an organic mixture of molasses, carbon and fish products that is used on the courses turf producing healthier plant and soil conditions.

Copetown Woods maintains their e-co friendly program even in the off season with an all natural alternative for removing ice from sidewalks that are safe for plant life and do not contaminate the environment.

The course conserves energy with motion censored and fluorescent lighting used throughout their clubhouse. Water taps include diffusers to reduce consumption and furnaces automatically decrease temperatures at night.

The course also uses an environmentally friendly system for weed maintenance. In the summer of 2012 Copetown Woods employed two billy goats — Brock and Lee— to maintain the growth of weeds.

Copetown Woods has been recognized in various media for their environmental efforts. Their media features include:
 * “Billy Goats at Copetown Woods”, Hamilton Spectator — August 21, 2013
 * “Employ Goats For Weed Control”, Canadian Groundskeeper — September 5, 2013
 * “Future Friendly”, GolfScene — June 12, 2014